unfit men upon tlic tail end of the ticket-
for office , trusting that the hcnd of the
ticket will pull them through , has be
come so universal that when a national
mid a municipal election occur at the
same time , it has become generally
known as "yellow dog" year.
Ring Perpetuation Controls Appointments.
When the men who are members of
the ring , or who are willing to do the
bidding of the ring , are elected to office ,
the first thing that is done is to dis
tribute the appointive offices among the
members of the ring , and place such
appointments where they will do it the
most good. No regard is paid to the
best interests of the public. The only
tiling kept in mind is the interest of the
ring. It , is customary to appoint , as
nearly as possible , one man in each pre
cinct to a position , where the pay great
ly exceeds the value of the work. Of
course , lie must keep himself in readi
ness to obey every command of the ring ;
he must be willing to do anything that
is necessary to keep control of the pre
cinct organization.
Why persons , who have any self re
spect , will accept such a position at the
hands of the gang , I have never been
able to understand. For the discipline
that they arc compelled to submit to is
as rigid as that of the regular army , and
the indignities that they are compelled
to bear , are beyond the endurance of a
self-respecting man.
Ring "Incomes. "
The ring does not depend alone upon
the salaries and emoluments from office.
It sells all the legislation for which it
can find a market , and when there is no
market for legislation it holds up and
sand-bags legitimate concerns with
threatened disastrous legislation. The
members of its legislative bodies do not
always receive the profit to bo derived
from the giving away of franchises and
legislation. A valuable franchise was
voted away by a city council a few years
ago without any return therefor to the
city. Public mass meetings were held ,
and the members of the council de
nounced for having been bribed. I have
been informed by a gentleman in a posi
tion to know , and whom I believe does
know , that no money was paid to the
members of the council for the passing
of the ordinance ; because the men who
wore interested in the corporation that
received the franchise , were the mem
bers of the ring who had placed the
members of the council in their seats.
Another method by which the ring
profits , is the furnishing of public sup
plies. There are but very few instances
where public supplies are purchased
from any person who does not stand in
with , or who is not a member of the
ring. The outsider cannot successfully
compote. If ho obtains n contract , he
must perform it to the letter , and be
annoyed in a hundred different ways
before ho gets his money. It is not ex
pected that supplies purchased from the
ring will conform to the contract.
Another ingenious method of keeping
in political power was discovered in one
of our cities a few years ago , where a
ring controlled the assessor's office in a
township. A majority of the property
owners were assessed less than they
should have been assessed , and a minor
ity of the property owners were assessed
a great deal more than they should have
been assessed , and by this means the
majority in the township were induced
to vote with the ring , by which means it
managed to keep in political power for
ton years.
So much for that element of the ring ,
which profits financially.
"Practical Politics. "
It often happens that persons who
have no interest in politics , excepting
the betterment of political conditions ,
are able to make what might be a suc
cessful fight upon the gang ; but because
the majority of the persons engaged in
such a fight do not desire an office , it
becomes comparatively easy for some
man with an abnormal thirst for politi
cal honor , to ally himself with the party
making the fight , and have himself
championed as a candidate , and when
the fight has been almost won against
the ring , the candidate , thinking to
make his election sure , sells his friends
and associates , goes over to his enemies ,
and offers as an excuse therefor that ho
is playing practical politics. It is , by
some , thought to be a mark of shrewd
ness to play practical politics ; whereas ,
any man , if he is small , mean and con
temptible , has no regard for his word ,
and is willing to betray his friends , can
bo a practical politician. Practical poli
tics , means directly the opposite from
honest politics , or honest conduct.
Ring Rule Demoralizing.
Ring rule and domination do not
pay. Not only is the public plundered ,
butso far as those who are members of
the ring are concerned , it does not pay
them. Money obtained in such way
will not last. Those who are engaged in
it may be able to smoke good cigars and
drink good whisky for a time , but when
they are dropped from power they are in
a worse position than when they started.
Their reputation , and of ten their morals ,
are gone.
If a person applies to a commercial
house for a position , and states that lie
has been holding a political job for five
years , and some other person from a
rival commercial house also makes appli
cation for the position , it is very safe to
say that the politician will bo told to
stand aside , and the man with the busi
ness experience will be employed.
It does not pay the small man to use a
machine to obtain for himself a political
office. The holding of office does not ,
of itself confer honor upon any man :
the honor comes from being worthy to
hold the office. It is more honorable to
deserve an office , and never got it , than
it is to got an office and not deserve it.
The greatest honor that can conio to a
man in this country is to do his duty
and to deserve the esteem and confidence
of his fellow man. It is a greater honor
to stand upon a platform and discuss
public questions and public events , and
bo free to express an unbiased opinion
and conviction upon a subject , than to
speak a piece in the halls of congress ,
containing ninety per cent , of desire to
keep a party in power and the speaker
in-office , and ten per cent , of sentiment
really beneficial to the community.
The greatest hope we have for a better
ment of these conditions , is in the uni
versal application of civil service. And
also the encouragement of the salutary
idea that a political party should be
supported only when it deserves it.
FKANCIS MARION LOWES.
Chicago , 111. , May 28 , 1901.
ROCK ISLAND DINING CAR SERVICE.
Commencing June 1st , the Rock Island
Route will establish a through Pullman
car service between St. Louis , Mo. , and
Denver , Colo. , running in connection
with the fast Colorado flyer. These
sleeping cars will bo of Pullman's latest
design , with large retiring rooms for
ladies-and such other modern conveni
ences as arc found in up-to-dato Gal's.
Dining car service will also be inaugu
rated on June 1st , on the Rook Island ,
Colorado flyer , both east and westbound
between Kansas City and Topeka , under
supervision of Frank Stewart , superin
tendent of dining cars. The usual high
standard of dining car service will be
maintained on the a la carte plan ,
patrons thus paying only for what they
o.tder.
A STORM ALARM CLOCK.
A novel method of predicting the
weather has been discovered by Prof. A.
Tommasina , a French scientist. He
uses for this purpose an instrument ,
which ho has just perfected and which
ho calls an "electrical radiophone. " By
means of it he can ascertain the exact
nature of the electrical currents in the
air at any moment , since the instrument
is fitted with a clock-work arrangement ,
which registers the precise quality of
each current. There are also several
bells in the instrument , each of which is
bound to ring whenever it is affected by
a particular current. If the current is
strong , a loud bell rings ; if it is weak ,
only a slight tinkling is heard. Prof.
Toininasiua claims that this instrument
will be found of great service , especially
on vessels at sea , since it will prove
nuich more reliable than the present
method of ascertaining weather con
ditions , which is of hardly any use ex
cept near a coast.